Safety concerns delay central line train services

Railway services on the Central Line were expected to resume on Monday, July 1, but security threats have stalled the process, said Zinobulali Mihi, spokesperson for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).

Ms Mihi said work between Kapteinsklip and Lentegeur has largely been completed, with contractors having finalised overhead traction equipment, perway, and station work up to the R300 bridge. However, the final 2km stretch between the bridge and Philippi station remains incomplete due to safety threats in the Philippi and Stock Road area.

“The area is currently unsafe for teams to continue with recovery work. This is the only outstanding section before testing and the rollout of services on the Kapteinsklip line can begin,” she said.

PRASA is currently engaging with affected communities to resolve safety concerns and resume operations ("Rail 'squatters were never relocated'" Plainsman April 1 and "‘Prasa relocation illegal’" Plainsman January 31).

“As soon as it is safe for workers to return, we will finalise the outstanding work. At this stage, we cannot confirm a date for when trains will resume, but we are in constant communication with the communities to address their concerns,” said Ms Mihi.

She confirmed that security personnel are patrolling the area to prevent vandalism, and once the final section of overhead traction work is completed, PRASA will still need to inspect the perway to ensure it is safe for train movement.

The Mitchell’s Plain United Residents Association (MURA) visited the site in June and welcomed visible progress at that time, particularly the installation of electric poles (“Lentegeur station progresses ahead of July restart,” Plainsman, May 15).

However, MURA chairperson Michael Jacobs said residents are frustrated by PRASA’s failure to meet the July deadline.

“As MURA and as the community, we are extremely disappointed that PRASA has not met its commitment to have trains running by the end of July,” he said. “This has become frustrating, and we hope PRASA will be transparent about the reasons behind this latest delay. We are calling for an urgent engagement with the regional manager to understand exactly where the project stands and when services will resume.”

Norman Daniels, chairperson of the Lentegeur East Ratepayers’ Association, said they’re also disappointed by the delay. 

“We warned PRASA not to create expectations that trains would be up and running by the end of June. Now, as we approach mid-August, there is still no progress,” Mr Daniels said. “There is also much outstanding work at the station itself. Once again, the Mitchell’s Plain community is being treated as the forgotten area of Cape Town.”

Ms Mihi said PRASA will resume work once it is safe and remains in contact with communities, but no date for restarting train services can yet be confirmed.